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WildIncognito |
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GALLERY
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| The Gallery |
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When
I set out on the long excursion that finally led to California I
wandered afoot and alone, from Indiana to the Gulf of Mexico, with
a plant-press on my back, holding a generally southward course,
like the birds when they are going from summer to winter. From
the west coast of Florida I crossed the gulf to Cuba, enjoyed the
rich tropical flora there for a few months, intending to go thence
to the north end of South America, make my way through the woods
to the headwaters of the Amazon, and float down that grand river
to the ocean. But I was unable to find a ship bound for South America-
fortunately perhaps, for I had incredibly little money for so long
a trip and had not yet fully recovered from a fever caught in the
Florida swamps. Therefore I decided to visit California for a year
or two to see its wonderful flora and the famous Yosemite Valley.
All the world was before me and every day was a holiday, so it did
not seem important to which one of the world's wildernesses I first
should wander.
Arriving by the Panama steamer, I stopped one day in San Francisco
and then inquired for the nearest way out of town. "But where
do you want to go?" asked the man to whom I had applied for
this important information. "To any place that is wild,"
I said. This reply startled him. He seemed to fear I might be crazy
and therefore the sooner I was out of town the better, so he directed
me to the Oakland ferry. -John Muir
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